TORONTO — Oliver Sheldrick, clean economy program manager at Clean Energy Canada, made the following statement in response to Ontario’s announcement of three new battery storage projects under the Independent Electricity System Operator’s Long-Term Procurement (LT2) process:
“Clean Energy Canada congratulates the three successful proponents in Ontario’s LT2 capacity procurement: battery energy storage system projects in Greater Napanee, Unincorporated Territory in the District of Kenora, and Norfolk County, each developed in equal partnership with First Nations. Together they exceed the province’s procurement target with 640 megawatts of new storage capacity.
“The result speaks for itself. In an open, technology-agnostic competition, where batteries faced off against any resource able to deliver dependable capacity, battery storage won every contract. This follows April’s energy-stream results focused on generation, where wind and solar took all 14 contracts.
“What is particularly encouraging here is that fundamentally this is a story about technology costs. Batteries, wind, and solar are demonstrating that they will often be the cheapest, fastest way to add reliable capacity to a growing grid, and it is ratepayers that will benefit most.
“It is more important than ever that procurement processes in Ontario and across Canada are designed to be technology neutral and facilitate the participation of technologies like battery energy storage systems and virtual power plants.
“As Canada looks to double its grid and electrify its economy, this procurement is further evidence that clean technologies will have a growing and vital role to play in rapidly building out a reliable and affordable electricity system, one that lowers household energy bills and ensures our electricity system is a globally competitive industrial asset.”
KEY FACTS
- The IESO has offered contracts to three selected proponents through the first window of the LT2 capacity stream, totalling 640 megawatts of maximum contract capacity, exceeding the 600 megawatts procurement target.
- Napanee Battery Energy Storage System Phase 2 (300 megawatts), in the Town of Greater Napanee, is developed with the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation.
- Eagle Lake Power Reserve (190 megawatts), near Oxdrift, Unincorporated Territory in the District of Kenora, is developed with Eagle Lake First Nation.
- Simcoe Battery Project (150 megawatts), in Norfolk County, is developed with Six Nations of the Grand River and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.
- All three projects include 50% Indigenous equity participation.
- The weighted average fixed capacity payment across selected projects is $563.48 per MW-business day under 20-year contracts, per the IESO’s initial results table. Contracts are currently being executed, with final results and individual prices to be published by the IESO.